Etro Anime
by RinsDarkMagician
Summary: Two young women do their best to comfort each other after a horrible tragedy.


"Come on. Why are you crying?"

She couldn't respond. She wanted to speak, but she just couldn't. She continued to cry and sob as he sighed and pulled her to his chest. He held her tightly and rubbed her hair, hoping it would ease some of her crying.

"Just stop already, would you?"

How could she stop? This wasn't something little. Someone she loved and adored was gone and there was nothing she could do about it except cry. Her tears didn't disappear as he lifted her face to his and gently kissed her lips. He cupped her face in his hands and gave her a small smile.

"We sure got a ways to go."

She just shook her head. "Come back…." She barely whispered.

"I can't."

"Please…."

"Don't do this."

"Please! I'm begging you! Please!"

"Stop..."

"Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please."

Her head fell back onto his chest as she begged and begged. He just held her, knowing he wouldn't be able to do what she asked of him. It was simply impossible. His time was almost already up.

"Stay strong for me, okay?"

Her eyes grew wide as she realized what he meant. She looked up at him and shook her head furiously. "No. No, don't go. Don't go."

"We'll be together again before you know it."

"No! No!"

"I'll see you soon."

"SHINJI!"

Minako screamed his name and sat upright in her bed. She looked around quickly though she knew he wouldn't be there. She wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to calm her breathing and tell herself it was just a dream. It was all just a dream.

Though it didn't feel like a dream. It felt so real to her. It was almost as if Shinji was really next to her and trying to comfort her and make her feel better. And perhaps he was. After everything that had happened this year she could believe Shinji was right next to her and in his coma at the hospital at the same time.

A sigh escaped her mouth as she slowly crawled out of bed. There was no way she was going to be able to sleep tonight. She made her way downstairs and noticed that the room she was heading towards already had the light on. Someone else must have been awake. She wanted to be alone and think about her beloved Shinji, but something made her continue to walk towards the kitchen.

"Mitsuru-senpai?"

Mitsuru jumped as she heard her name. She blinked a few times, staring at Minako. It was evident with her puffy eyes and red face that she had been crying. She used a napkin to dab at her tears before acknowledging Minako.

"Why are you up so late?" Mitsuru asked, doing her best to keep her voice steady.

"I couldn't sleep." Minako answered. "What about you?"

"Me either. I have a lot on my mind."

"Shinji…."

"Yeah."

The two were leaning against the counter in complete silence. There wasn't a whole lot for them to say. They both saw Shinji that day and they knew he wouldn't be coming out of his coma for a long time…if he ever did come out of it. The last thing either of them wanted was to remind the other of the tragedy, but at the same time they both needed to let their emotions loose.

"You must really miss him," Mitsuru said.

Minako looked back at Mitsuru to see her tears had reappeared. Seeing her crying got Minako started all over again. The tears fell down her face and she couldn't stop them. She took a deep breath before answering.

"What are you saying? You two were old friends. I'm sure you're missing him just as much as I am."

Mitsuru gave up trying to hide her tears with a napkin. "I could see how much you two liked each other. You two cared very deeply for one another."

Of course Mitsuru would notice how they felt. It was as if nothing got by her, not even love! Yet somehow, it comforted Minako to know that someone saw it. It meant she could have someone to talk to about how much pain she was really in.

"Three days, Mitsuru-senpai. Three days," Minako said, her voice cracking. "On day one we confessed to each other how we felt. On day two we were officially an item. And on day three…he was gone."

Mitsuru watched as Minako hid her face in her hands so her sobbing would be muffled. Mitsuru did her best to keep her crying in check. The last thing either of them wanted was to get hysterical and wake everyone up. She wiped some of her tears away and put a hand on Minako's shoulder.

"I know what we need to make us feel a little better."

Minako turned her face to Mitsuru's and just from the look in her senpai's eyes she knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Ice cream," they both said in unison.

Before they knew it the girls were sitting at the dining room table, sharing a large tub of chocolate ice cream. It didn't help with the aches in their hearts, but it did help them to calm down a bit. They felt they could talk about their feelings without getting too upset or wind up going into another crying fit.

"I was so angry, Mitsuru-senpai. I blamed everyone for what happened to him." Minako said after they had calmed down enough to actually speak. She stared at the tub of ice cream, not really sure of what she was saying but knowing that it needed to be said if she was going to find any kind of relief. "I blamed him for not just sticking to the mission and going off on his own. I blamed Ken for dragging him out there in the first place. I blamed Fuuka for not finding them ahead of time. I blamed Akihiko for getting there too late. I blamed you for not realizing what was going on. I blamed Yukari and Junpei and Aigis for just being so ignorant of everything. I blamed Igor and Theo for not giving me a heads up on what would occur. And I blamed myself…for not being there to save him."

Mitsuru decided to not ask about who ever Igor and Theo were. She figured Minako was just in the mourning process and not thinking correctly. "I understand how you feel. Though I do believe you skipped the first stage of grieving and went straight to the anger phase." Mitsuru said in a feeble attempt at a joke.

Surprisingly, Minako actually smiled at Mitsuru and took another big bite of ice cream. "That's me...a rebel without a cause."

Mitsuru giggled and both girls were happy to see the other crack a smile. A few more moments passed before Mitsuru took a deep breath and properly answered Minako.

"I blamed everyone too. I even blamed the weather! I thought about the storm that had hit before all of this occurred and I thought of it as a bad omen. I thought if that storm just hadn't hit then none of this would have happened. Of course that's silly…."

"No, I don't think it's silly." Minako said. "We just needed someone or something to place the blame on…someone to be responsible and pay for what happened."

"Funny how we blamed everyone, even ourselves, before we blamed that man from Strega."

The two went silent as Mitsuru said that word. Strega. They were the ones. They were the reason Shinji was lying in a coma instead of here at the dorm with them. Strega was the reason Shinji wouldn't wake up tomorrow and greet them or cook them another dinner or play with Koro. It was all their fault.

"They will pay for what they took away from us."

Minako looked at Mitsuru as she said that. Her senpai would have looked so serious if she hadn't stuffed a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. Minako smiled and let out a small laugh, surprising Misturu but making her laugh as well.

"As far as Shinjiro goes…_etro anime_," Mitsuru said.

"Etro what? Is that French?"

"No," Mitsuru said with a laugh. "It's Latin actually. _Etro anime_. It means 'to be infinite in spirit.' I think even though Shinjiro isn't conscious right now he's still with all of us. His spirit will never die...it'll be infinite until he comes back to us."

_Etro anime_…. Minako turned the words over and over again in her head. Mitsuru was right. After all, Shinji had already visited her in her dreams so his spirit still had to be here with them! It would hover around and protect them all until the day he would wake up and do it himself. And when he finally did wake up…the two of them could be together.

"Thanks, Mitsuru."

"No, thank you."

The two of them tapped their spoons together and ate their ice cream. On the outside they felt happy and comforted knowing they weren't alone in their grief, but on the inside they burned with an even greater desire to find that man who shot Shinji and make him pay. Yet until that time comes they felt warm and safe knowing Shinji was with them and that he was infinite in spirit.


End file.
